Maryland taxpayers paid $219 million in 2024 to educate students who could not be found

Baltimore (WBFF) — A Project Baltimore investigation has uncovered that Maryland taxpayers, in 2024, gave public schools hundreds of millions of dollars to educate students whose whereabouts were unknown.

It’s late September. And Maryland public schools are busy – not just educating students but counting them.

In Maryland, most of a school’s funding is based on the number of students enrolled on one day, September 30th. The students counted on that day largely determine a school’s funding the following year.

But a Project Baltimore investigation is raising serious questions about that process. We’ve learned, in 2024, taxpayers gave hundreds of millions of dollars to schools to educate students who could not be found...

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/taxpayers-students-whereabouts-unknown-maryland-education